Singapore Airlines Tops World Ranking; Southwest Top US Carrier

Travel planning and booking firm TripAdvisor on Monday released its Travelers’ Choice awards list of the world’s best airlines. The top-rated airline is Singapore-based Singapore Airlines, and the top-rated North American carrier is Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV).

TripAdvisor also listed the top airlines in six other regions — Latin America, Asia, South Pacific & Oceania, Europe, Middle East, and Africa & Indian Ocean — along with awards in four service classes: International First Class, Business Class, Premium Economy and Economy.

Winners were determined using an algorithm that took into account the quantity and quality of airline reviews and ratings submitted by travelers worldwide over a 12-month period on TripAdvisor flights.

According to TripAdvisor’s rankings, these are the world’s top 10 airlines and their home country:

Singapore Airlines, Singapore

Air New Zealand, New Zealand

Emirates, United Arab Emirates

Japan Airlines, Japan

EVA Air, Taiwan

Southwest Airlines, United States

Jet2.com, United Kingdom

Qatar Airways, Qatar

Azul, Brazil

Korean Air, South Korea

For the service class awards, Singapore Airlines won both the first-class and economy categories. Qatar Airways was judged to have the best business class and Air New Zealand had the best premium economy class.